On Saturday, April 25, silence gets no chance. In the Sint-Michielskerk in Leuven, the Peace Marathon unfolds in collaboration with the Contius Foundation: twelve hours of music and words that don't aim to convince, but to invite – to listen, to reflect, to begin understanding.
The starting point is clear yet layered. From afternoon to midnight, organ music, vocal contributions, and artistic interventions form a continuous journey, interspersed with pleas and reflections. Each hour sheds different light on a question that sounds more urgent than ever today: what does peace mean anymore? Not ready-made answers, but a carefully constructed dialogue between sound and thought, between emotion and engagement.
Central to it all is the organ – an instrument that not only fills space, but also carries time. It is a sonic body that has endured centuries of conflict and reconciliation, bringing with it a special layering. In this context, it becomes not a museum piece, but a living witness: to what has been, and to what remains possible.
The power of the Peace Marathon lies in its interplay. Music here becomes not an aesthetic endpoint, but a form of speech. And words, carried by sound, gain a different intensity. Speakers from diverse sectors of society bring their perspectives, not as a conclusion, but as an invitation for further reflection and dialogue.
New this year is the move outside. For the first time, the initiative explicitly steps beyond the church walls. On the Grand Square, a musical intervention by the Leuven University Choir creates a moment of collective attention. What exactly will happen remains a secret for now, but the symbolism is clear: peace doesn't only belong within the confines of a church, but wants to show itself in the heart of the city, in the midst of everyday life.
The day also offers space for stillness and confrontation. With The Angels Mourn Too Ingrid Dewit presents a participatory art project that commemorates what is hardly graspable: children who died through war and violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is a restrained, yet striking presence that makes the abstraction of the concept of 'peace' tangible.
The Peace Marathon moreover stands not alone. Within the framework of the European network of historic organ cities, that same weekend carries a joint call for peace in different cities. From Alkmaar to Trondheim, concerts are organized in which music, reflection, and encounter take center stage. The initiative emphasizes no solutions, but rather something equally necessary: attention. In a time of growing polarization and hardened divisions, it forms a cultural gesture that invests in listening and connection across borders.
Perhaps that is the essence of this day. Not in the pretense that music can change the world, but in the realization that it can create space. Space to fall silent, to hear the other, to experience again that peace is not an abstract ideal, but a choice that must be made again and again.
And so music sounds. Twelve hours long. Not as background, but as a question – one that continues to resonate, even when the last note fades.
